January 24, 2022
Pages 193-203
Whole Number 17
SPARKSES IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Pension Papers of Margaret Sparks, Widow of Ebenezer Sparks (1758-1832)
by Russell E. Bidlack
The following pension records pertain to the service of 43.2.2.1.1 Ebenezer Sparks (1758-1832) in the American Revolution, although the person who applied for and was granted the pension was his widow, Margaret (Love) Sparks (1762-1853). The pension papers for members of the Sparks family which have been printed in the Quarterly thus far, had been submitted by the veterans themselves. A comparison of these previously published papers with those given below, reveals that a widow was required to submit more extensive proof of her husband's service (in the form of affidavits from persons who knew him during the Revolution) than was required if the veteran himself could swear to his service. The genealogist doing research in these records is grateful for this requirement because affidavits found in a widow's application frequently contain family history which exists in no other form.
As an introduction to these papers, the following biographical sketch of Ebenezer Sparks has been compiled from the papers which follow and from a family record supplied by Mrs. Millie Sparks Dufresne of Jamaica, Vermont. Mrs. Dufresne states that Raymond Taylor of Weston, Vermont, prepared the family record for her grandmother. It relates primarily to the descendants of Ebenezer's son Aaron.
43.2.2.1.1 Ebenezer Sparks - A Biographical Sketch
43.2.2.1.1 Ebenezer Sparks was born February 12, 1758, in the town of Killingly, County of Windham, Connecticut. He was the son of 43.2.2.1 Samuel Sparks, Jr. According to the affidavit of Daniel Fairman (see page 199), Ebenezer was his father's only son and joined the Army against his father's will. It will be seen from the various affidavits that he served in several units and took part in a number of historic battles, including those of Bunker Hill and Long Island. He was also present at the hanging of Major John Andre.
A sister-in-law and a brother-in-law of Ebenezer Sparks were still living at the time his widow applied for a pension; their statements provide interesting family history. According to the testimony of the sister-in-law, Annar (Love) Woods, Ebenezer Sparks was married twice and his two wives were sisters. He married, 1st, in 1778, in either the town of Killingly or the town of Scituate, Olive Love. She died on August 22, 1780. Annar Woods stated that she was with Olive 'at the birth of her first and only child about nine months previous to her death.' That this child was a daughter and was named after her mother is proved by the following entry in the church records of South Killingly: 'Olive, dau. of Ebnr. & Olive Sparks, baptized January 16, 1779, on her mother's account.'
Following the death of his first wife and his discharge from the Army, Ebenezer Sparks moved from Connecticut to what is now the town of Dover in Vermont, located in what was then called 'the back country.' This move took place in the year 1781. Robert Love, Ebenezer's brother-in-law, accompanied him. After moving to Vermont, Ebenezer Sparks married Margaret Love, a sister of his first wife. Margaret Love was born March 5, 1762. This marriage was the first marriage recorded in what is now the town of Dover and occurred on August 22, 1782. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Hezekiah Taylor, a Congregational minister of the town of Newfane, Vermont. In 'the back country' of the 1780's a minister did well to visit a settlement as often as once a year and a wedding was an event of real importance. The wedding of Ebenezer and Margaret was performed in a log house, with a general invitation being extended to all the settlers to attend. It is related of Parson Taylor that he had a habit when at prayer of rising upon his tip-toes and coming down hard upon his heels, obviously to give emphasis to his words. According to local tradition, Parson Taylor was so emphatic at Ebenezer and Margaret's wedding that the floor gave way and precipitated the whole party into the cellar.
Ebenezer Sparks is described in an Army record as being five feet, ten inches in height, of dark complexion, and a farmer by occupation. He died January 11, 1832, and was buried in the Dover Center Cemetery. His second wife, Margaret (Love) Sparks, died March 1, 1853, at the age of ninety-one. She was buried also in the Dover Center Cemetery.
43.2.2.1.1.1 Olive Sparks
Following is a list of the children of Ebenezer and Margaret (Love) Sparks as given in Raymond Taylor's sketch:
43.2.2.1.1.2 Sarah Sparks, born September 29, 1782. She married, first, Aaron Wood; second, William Bugher.
43.2.2.1.1.3 Susanna Sparks, born May 28, 1784; died before December, 1844.
43.2.2.1.1.4 Samuel Sparks, born February 23, 1786.
43.2.2.1.1.5 Sylvanus Sparks, born July 29, 1787; died January 31, 1861. He married Betsy Hodgkins on January 8, 1812, at Dover.According to Johy Lyman Sparks of Brattleboro, Vermont, Sylvanus Sparks had the following children:
43.2.2.1.1.5.1 Sylvester Sparks, born 1826, died 1905; married 1847, Elvira Gould.
43.2.2.1.1.5.2 Sally Sparks, married FNU Russell.
43.2.2.1.1.5.3 Ichabod Sparks.
43.2.2.1.1.5.4 Washington Sparks.
43.2.2.1.1.5.5 Lucy Sparks, married FNU Knowlton.43.2.2.1.1.6 Rachel Sparks, born June 25, 1789; died August 7, 1795.
43.2.2.1.1.7 John Sparks, (Webmaster Note: See the Quarterly, Whole No. 27, pp. 416-417) born November 25, 1790; a soldier in the War of 1812; removed to North Brookfield, Mass. He married three times: 1st, Louisa Rawson of Dover; 2d, Hannah R. Foster of Barre, New York; 3d, Azubah Snow.According to Raymond Taylor's sketch, John Sparks had the following children:
43.2.2.1.1.6.1 Henry Sparks, born 1820.
43.2.2.1.1.6.2 Mary Sparks, born 1825.43.2.2.1.1.8 Ebenezer Sparks, Jr., born July 2, 1792.
43.2.2.1.1.9 Hannah Sparks, born April 26, 1794; died August 26, 1795.
43.2.2.1.1.10 Hannah Sparks (second), born January 18, 1796; died September 26, 1799.
43.2.2.1.1.11 Ichabod Sparks, born November 18, 1796; married Ruth Hill of Dover on May 8, 1820.
43.2.2.1.1.12 Thomas Sparks, born January 12, 1800, died in 1866 in Dover. He married Patty Robbins of Newfane, Vermont.According to Raymond Taylor's sketch, Thomas Sparks had the following children:
43.2.2.1.1.12.1 Charles E. Sparks, born 1823, married Irene Ingram.
43.2.2.1.1.12.2 Martha C. Sparks, born 1825, married FNU Bower.
43.2.2.1.1.12.3 Ebenezer Sparks, a California pioneer in 1849. He married Mary L. Edmonds, February 25, 1851;
43.2.2.1.1.12.4 Thomas Sparks, born 1831, died young.
43.2.2.1.1.12.5 Thomas Sparks (second), born April 22, 1836; moved to California in 1854. See Union Pensions, Whole No. 183 for his pension papers from the Civil War.
43.2.2.1.1.12.6 Sarah Sparks, born 1836, married FNU Wilson and moved to California.
43.2.2.1.1.12.7 John Sparks, born 1839; a California pioneer in the early days.43.2.2.1.1.13 Aaron Sparks, born November 2, 1803. He married Lucinda Simpson of Dover on March 16, 1823.
43.2.2.1.1.13.1 Orrin Thomas Sparks, born December, 17, 1823, died March 16, 1823.
43.2.2.1.1.13.2 Asa Underwood Sparks, born January 30, 1826, died as a soldier in the Civil War.
43.2.2.1.1.13.3 Henry D. Sparks, born December 17, 1827; married in Cavendish, Vt., in 1852, Millie Russell, daughter of Nathaniel and Patty (Hardy) Russell.
43.2.2.1.1.13.4 John Love Sparks, born February 13, 1830, died February 22, 1918. He married Susan A. Jacobs and resided in Grafton.
43.2.2.1.1.13.5 Lydia Ann Sparks, born April 19, 1831; married C. A. Bartlett and resided in Winona, Illinois.
43.2.2.1.1.13.6 Luther Kendall Sparks, born August 30, 1833; resided in Keene, N.H.
43.2.2.1.1.13.7 Olive Eyna Sparks, born February 8, 1835; married K. Austin and resided in Spring Valley, Illinois.
43.2.2.1.1.13.8 Thomas Martin Sparks, born December, 2, 1836, died 1838.
43.2.2.1.1.13.9 Hannah Margaret Sparks, born February 19, 1839, died 1853.
43.2.2.1.1.13.10 Martin Aaron Sparks, born September 26, 1841; resided in Townshend; served in the Civil War.
43.2.2.1.1.13.11 Mary Jane Sparks, born September 22, 1843; married R. W. Bullaid and resided in Grafton.
43.2.2.1.1.13.12 Lucy L. Sparks, born January 30, 1846; married, 1st, Dexter Benson; 2d, James H. Stowell.Pension Papers of Margaret (Love) Sparks
(Note: In copying these documents, capitalization and punctuation have been modernized for the sake of clarity,but no changes have been made in spelling or content. A few minor certificates which contain no data of interest have been omitted. Also omitted are several letters by A. S. Campbell, a justice of the peace who assembled the affidavits supporting Margaret Sparks's claim. These Campbell letters are merely letters of transmittal and contain no essential data.)
Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress of the 7th July 1838 entitled An Act Granting Half Pay and Pension to Certain Widows.
State of Vermont
Windham County SS District of Marlboro SS
On this 27th day of June A.D. 1844 personally appeared Margaret Sparks, a resident of Dover in the County of Windham aforesaid, aged eighty-two years, who being first duly sworn according to law doth on her oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made by the Act of Congress passed July 7, 1838, entitled An Act Granting Half Pay and Pension to Certain Widows.
That she is the widow of Ebenezer Sparks who was a private in the Army of the Revolution in the Connecticut Line; she thinks he was in the Continental Service, that he served at or near Cambridge in the year 1775, and that he also served through the year seventeen hundred and seventy-six, having enlisted for the year, and that he also served in the year 1780, part of which time he was in the Jerseys; thinks he enlisted this campaign for nine months. She believes that said Ebenezer Sparks served under Capt. McGregor in General Huntington's Brigade, and that the service in 1775 was about six months, and she believes that the service in 1780 was under Major Throop. He resided at Killingly, Conn., at the time of the service, as she believes the service under Capt. McGregor, who lived in Plainefield, Conn., 'was when he, sd. Sparks, first went into the service.'
She further declares that she married the said Ebenezer Sparks in August seventeen hundred and eighty-two by Hezekiah Taylor at Wordsboro, now Dover; that her husband, the aforesaid Ebenezer Sparks, died on the eleventh day of January one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two; that she was not married to him prior to his leaving the service, but the marriage took place previous to the first of January seventeen hundred and ninety-four, and at the time above stated.
her
Sworn to and subscribed on the day (signed] Margaret SX Sparks
& year above mentioned and before mark
[signed] Henry Smith, Judge of Probate for the District of Marlboro, Vermont.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the 2d Section of the Act of Congress of the 4th July 1836.
State of Vermont
District of Marlboro SS
On this 28th day of June 1845, personally appeared before the Probate Court of the District of Marlboro in said State, Margaret Sparks, a resident of Dover in the District of Marlboro in the County of Windham & State aforesaid, aged eighty-three years, who, being first duly sworn according to the law, doth on her oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made by the 2d Section of the Act of Congress passed July 4, 1836.
That she is the widow of Ebenezer Sparks, late of Dover aforesaid, deceased, who was a private in the Army of the Revolution and served at or near Cambridge in 1775. He also served throughout the year 1776, also under Major Throop in 1780. She further declares that she married the said Ebenezer Sparks in August seven [teen] hundred and eighty-two by the Revd. Hezekiah Taylor, Minister of the Gospel, at Wardboro in the State of Vermont, now called Dover, Vermont, and that her husband, the aforesaid Ebenezer Sparks, died on the 11th day [of] January one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, and that she has remained a widow ever since that period, as will more fully appear by reference to the proof hereto annexed.
her
Sworn to and subscribed on the day [signed] Margaret X Sparks
& year above written before mark
[signed] Lemuel Whitney, Judge of Probate.
State of New York
Chautauqa County SS
Robert Love of the town of Hanover in said County being duly sworn, deposes and says that he knows Margaret Sparks of the town of Dover, Windham County, Vermont; that she is a sister of this deponent and married Ebenezer Sparks in the (then) town of Wardsboreugh (now Dover), in said county of Windham about the year 1781. This deponent further says he was present at the marriage & witnessed the ceremony. This deponent further says that said Sparks married for his first wife another sister of this deponent; that he served in the Connecticut Line of the Continental Army at Cambridge in the year 1775 and after that enlisted for a year & served in said Connecticut Line during the year 1776, as this deponent was then informed and well understood, and as he now verrily believes.
This deponent says further that said Sparks served in said Connecticut Line in the Jerseys in the year 1780, where this deponent frequently saw him and visited him; and particularly this deponent remembers being with him on the day that Maj. Andre was hung, & going with him to the prison of Andre about half an hour before his execution. And this deponent further says he understood at the time that said Sparks had enlisted for nine months at the time of service last mentioned & he truly believes that he was in actual service during the whole of said nine months. This deponent served during the same time in the Massachusetts Line and according to his recollection the said Sparks served under Gen. Huntington and Capt. McGregor. And further this deponent says not.
[signed] Robert Love.
Subscribed and sworn to before me
this 15th day of March A.D. 1839.
[signed] Nathan Mixer, Justice of Peace.
I Annar Woods of Dover, in the county of Windham and state of Vermont, of the age of eighty years, testify and say that in the year 1775 I resided in the town of Killingly in the state of Connecticut. I was well acquainted with Ebenezer Sparks, then of said Killingly, who afterwards settled in said Dover where he died, I well recollect that sometime in the summer of 1775 said Sparks went into the service of the United States to Cambridge, in Mass, In the close of the year 1776, I was at said Sparks father's in said Killingly and well recollect that he returned from the service. The family was expecting him and when I was there we heard the report of a gun and the cry was that Eben had come home, which proved to be a fact. I then understood that he had been in the service eighteen months; that he enlisted in the first place for six months and at the expiration of said term he enlisted for one year and was in the year's service in 1776. I at the time well understood the places that he had been to, and the officers he had served under, but from age and length of time, have now forgotten, except his loosing his shoes & most of his clothing in crossing a creek at Long Island Battle. I further say that said Ebenezer Sparks died sometime in the month of January in the year eighteen hundred and thirty-two, and that Margaret Sparks, now of said Dover, is his widow and has not married since his death.
[signed] Annar X Woods
her mark
Sworn to and subscribed before me
this 14th day of June 1839
[signed] Lyman Howe, Justice Peace.
State of New York
Chautauqa County SS
Robert Love of the town of Hanover in said County, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he knows Annar Woods of Dover, Windham County, Vermont; that she is a sister of this deponent; that she married Timothy Woods in the town of Warwick in the county of Hampshire & Commonwealth of Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War, and about the year 1779, but precisely :it what time, this deponent cannot now recollect. It was not earlier than 1779 nor later than 1781. This deponent was present at the wedding and witnessed the ceremony. Rev. Mr. Reed, then pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Warwick, performed the ceremoney. This deponent had been acquainted with said Woods from the year 1775, when this deponent and said Woods both resided in said town of Warwick. And this deponent further says that said Woods served in the Continental Army stationed near Plattsburg, five months in the summer of the year 1776, as this deponent was then informed and understood and ---(torn)--- believes; and also nine months in the year 1775, and also that he was present at the taking of Gen. Burgoyne in the fall of that year, as this deponent then well understood, but of which this deponent has no positive knowledge, he, this deponent, being in a different part of the service at the time mentioned, viz., near Boston in the year 1776 and up the Mohawk River in the vicinity of Rome in the year 1777. And further this deponent says not.
[signed] Robert Love.
Subscribed and sworn to before
me this 15th day of March A.D. 1839.
[signed] Nathan Mixer, Justice of Peace.
[Note: The following letter was written by an official in Hartford, Conn., named A. Carrington, in reply to a letter by A. S. Campbell. Campbell had requested that Carrington search the Revolutionary records of Connecticut for proof of service of
Ebenezer Sparks.]
Comptroller's Office,
Hartford Connt.,
28 October 1844.
On application of evidence of the service of Ebenezer Sparks in the War of the Revolution, I have examined the documents remaining in the Office relating to that war, and I certify the following to be true extracts & statements from the documents aforesaid.
The payroll of Capt. Wm. Coit is not found among those of the companies who served at or near Boston in 1775. But there is evidence on the 'Pay table' Books that he served at Bunker Hill, Roxbury, &c. in 1775 in Colo, Parson's Regt. and it appears by the rolls of that Regt. that most of the Companies served about 7 months, none have been observed as serving less than five months.
In a 'pay-table' journal is this entry: 'United States Dr. To order in Treas. pr. Eben. Sparks for loss, Cob, Durkee's Regt. '76 ?7.3.0" But one roll of Capt. Durkee's Regt. for that year has been found. It also appears by the same book that Capt. John McGregory was of the same Regiment and that among the charges to him for his Company is 16 Blankets furnished by the town of Plainfield; the entry is dated May 15, 1777.
In an original document headed 'Pay-Roll of the Short Levies in Majr. Throop's Company 4th Connt. Regiment who have served for the Campaign 1780,' certified by Brigadier General J, Huntington, the name of Ebenezer Sparks is given, as belonging to the town of Killingly, as having his pay commence 20th July, and paid to 10th December and as serving 4 months & 21 days.
[signed] A. Carrington, Comptroller.
I Moses Sabin of Newfane in the state of Vermont, testify and say that the Revd. Hezekiah Taylor was a minister of the Gospel in said Newfane for a great number of years, I think about forty years, and died about thirty years since. I further testify that after the death of said Taylor the records of marriages solemnized by him were kept by his widow until she died, since which time they have been in my hands & I further testify that I have examined said records and that the following is a true copy of said record. 'August Seventeen hundred and Eighty two: married Sparks and Love, both of Wordsborough,' with the exception of the date which is expressed on the record in fair legible figures as follows: August 1782.
[signed] Moses Sabin
State of Vermont
Windham County SS June 3d 1844
Then personally appeared Moses Sabin above named and made oath that the foregoing affidavit by him signed contains the truth. Before me
[signed] Alexander S. Campbell
Justice Peace.
I Seth Short of Killingly in the county of Windham and state of Connecticut aged 86 years, being duly sworn according to law, do on my oath depose and say that during the time of the Revolutionary War I lived in the town of Killingly, aforesaid, and knew and was well acquainted with a man by the name of Ebenezer Sparks, who at that time lived in said Killingly and a near neighbor to me.
I do further testify that from the best of my present recollection, I joined a company of drafted or detached militia under Capt. James Gordon in forepart of February 1776, and that said company was (with other companies) stationed at Roxbury, Mass., for a tour of two months. I served out my time and was discharged and came home.
I found the said Ebenezer Sparks in sd. Capt. James Gordon's Company performing the duties of a soldier when I joined it. Said Sparks did not serve long in sd. Company before he enlisted out for one year service & joined, I think, Colo. Mitchel Varnum's Regt. After leaving our camp & joining the other Regt. I saw no more of him for more than a year.
Sd. Ebenezer Sparks left Killingly a great many years since & went off into the back country, since which time I have not seen him. his
[signed] Seth X Short
In presence of:: mark
[signed] Wm. C. Stanton
Almi Shippee
Windham County
Killingly SS March 19, 1344
Personally appeared Seth Short of Killingly aforesaid and who has subscribed the foregoing deposition by his mark and who is also known to the subscriber as a witness whose testimony is entitled to full credit and belief, and made solemn oath to the truth of the same before me.
[signed] Wm. C. Stanton
Justice of Peace.
I Daniel Fairman of Killingly in the county of Windham and state of Connecticut, aged 84 years and upwards, being duly sworn according to law do on my oath depose and say that during the Revolutionary War & before the war commenced, I knew and was well acquainted with Ebenezer Sparks of Killingly aforesaid, & he was a member of Capt. Cady's Company of militia during the War of the Revolution.
That the said Ebenezer Sparks was gone from home during the year 1776 & 1777. And it was at that time said that he was in the Army as a soldier. At the time that the Americans were driven from Long Island in 1776, it was said he was among the number and the said Sparks sent home to his father to send him some clothes &c., as he had lost everything in the retreat from Long Island, but he would not, because Ebenezer was all the son his father had & Samuel Sparks, Jr., as he then wrote his name, the said Ebenezer Sparks's father, was very much dissatisfied when the said Ebenezer enlisted. During 1776 & part of 1777 the said Ebenezer Sparks was reputed & believed to have been in the service at Long Island, N. York, & elsewhere. At the time of the taking of Burgoyne in 1777, Ebenezer Sparks aforesaid, Ebenezer Kies [Kris?] Daniel Kies [Kris?] & John Moffat, all enlisted & joined the troops that were enlisted from other places.
That said Sparks was gone from home & in the service much of the time during the War. This fact was well known to me from the fact that he was a member of the same company with me in Killingly & when the company met it was a custom with Capt. Cady at roll call to report the absent members, if in the Army, to the remaining members of the company, & E. Sparks, afsd., was often reported as being in the service. I cannot tell what officers he was under when in the Army for I never was with him.
[signed] Daniel X Fairman
his mark
In pres. of:
[signed] Charles S. Weaver
Wm. C. Stanton
Windham County
Killingly SS June 24th 1844.
Personally appeared Daniel Fairman who has subscribed to the foregoing deposition and who is knovm to the subscriber as a witness whose testimony is entitled to truth and veracity and made solemn oath to the truth of the same before me.
[signed] Wm. C. Stanton
Justice of Peace.
I Eben Sparks of Dover in the state of Vermont testify and say that I was well acquainted with Ebenezer Sparks, formerly of Killingly, Conn., & late of Dover, Vermont, deceased, who was a Revolutionary soldier, That he died on the 11th day of January A.D. 1832, leaving Margaret Sparks his widow who is still living, I further testify that I am well acquainted with the said Margaret and that she has not been married since the death of the said Ebenezer, but continues single & umnarried.
[signed] Eben Sparks
Sworn to by the above named Eben Sparks who is a credible person, this 27th day of June 1844, before
[signed] Henry Smith, Just. Peace.
I Annar Woods of Dover in the county of Windham and state of Vermont, testify and say that Ebenezer Sparks, formerly of Killingly, Corm., and late of said Dover, deceased, married his first wife, my sister, whose maiden name was Olive Love. They were married at Killingly, Conn., or in Scituate, by Wm. Bennett, a Baptist Minister, before I was married and I was married in the year seventeen hundred and eighty-one. I moved to Dover in the year seventeen hundred and eighty six or seventeen hundred and eighty-five and have lived in said Dover ever since, and I further testify and say that when I moved to said Dover in 1785 or 1786, Ebenezer Sparks, late of said Dover, deceased, then lived in said Dover and that Margaret Sparks, now of said Dover, who lived with the said Ebenezer, that they were reported to be husband and wife, and I then understood that they had been married about three years and I always understood and believed they were married by the Revd. Hezekiah Taylor, a Congregational Minister of Newfane, Vermont. In 1785 or 1786 when I moved to Dover, the said Ebenezer and Margaret had two children, Sarah and Susanna. Susanna is dead and Sarah lived and is sixty-two years of age; she was born very soon after their marriage. Both of the said Ebenezer Sparks's wives were my sisters and his first wife, Olive, died soon after said Sparks married her.
her
[signed] Annar X Woods
[Witness] Jonathan Woods. mark
State of Vermont
Windham County SS December 31, 1844.
Then Annar Woods, who is a credible person, personally appeared and made oath that the foregoing affidavit by her subscribed is true, Before me
[signed] Alexander S. Campbell
Justice Peace.
I Reuben Bryant of Plainfield in the county of Windham and state of Connecticut, aged 81 years, being duly sworn according to law do depose and say that I enlisted in December 1775 for one year and was joined to Capt. Christopher Ely's Company in Colo. Samuel H. Parson's Regt. (Parson was soon promoted to Brig. Gen.). We commenced this tour of duty at Roxbury, last of December, 1775, and then remained and in that vicinity until the British evacuated Boston when we marched to New York and Long Island. That I served in said company & regiment until about one week prior to the time of the retreat of the Americans from Long Island, when I was taken sick & removed to Kings Bridge, so called, where I remained sick for two or three weeks with camp distemper, when I again resumed my duties.
That I knew Ebenezer Sparks of Killingly prior to the commencement of the Revolutionary War and that said Ebenezer Sparks was a private soldier in 1776 at Long Island & New York & after this at White Plains but he was not in the same regiment with me.
I do not recollect whether I saw said Sparks at Roxbury, Mass., or not before going to Long Island & N. York. But I distinctly recollect the said Ebenezer Sparks at Long Island & New York. The said Sparks used to frequently visit a man who was in the same company with me, by the name of Isaac Bassett. After the retreat from Long Island & I got well enough to resume my duties as a soldier, I recollect of sd. Ebenezer Sparks & the sd. Isaac Bassett one day had a controversy with each other. I do not positively recollect what company & regt. the sd. Ebenezer Sparks served in, but I do know that he was then in the Army as a private soldier & did serve. When he was discharged, I cannot tell. The last time I recollect of seeing sd. Sparks in the tour was at White Plains. From White Plains I with some others were ordered to New Jersey & joined Washington & then went into Pennsylvania. I, there at White Plains, left sd. Sparks in the service.
[signed] Reuben Bryant.
Windham County SS Plainfield, June 24, 1844.
Personally appeared Reuben Bryant [etc.]
[signed] Wm. C. Stanton,
Justice of Peace.
I Joseph Foster of Chaplin in the county of Windham and state of Connecticut, aged 83 years, after being duly cautioned and sworn according to law, deposeth and saith that I served in the War of the Revolution as a private soldier and some of the time as a fifer.
That in the year 1778 I performed a tour of duty at New London, Conn. I was in Capt.FNU Bates's Company of militia. David Cady, I think, was an orderly sergeant and was from Killingly. I served in this tour of duty as a substitute for Benjamin Fairbanks who was a resident of Thompson. I commenced this tour in March & was dismissed and came home the last of April. I served about six weeks in this tour but did not in my declaration set forth but one month.
While on this tour of duty, I became acquainted with a man by the name of Ebenezer Sparks who was from Killingly & who was a soldier in the same company with me. Sd. Sparks told me he was a substitute, but I do not now recollect for whom. The said Sparks was one of my mess mates; he served one month in this tour of duty and under the same officers with me.
In 1780 while I was out to the west on a tour of duty in the Army to N. York & the Jerseys, I came across the afd. Ebenezer Sparks; he was then a private soldier in the Army. I cannot tell what officers he was under but I saw him several times while I was out on this tour of duty in 1780.
[signed] Joseph Foster.
Sworn and subscribed on the
29th day of April 1845, before me
[signed] Vim. C, Stanton, Justice of Peace.
State of Connecticut
Windham County SS Ashford.
On this 30th day of April A.D. 1845, then personally appeared before me, William C. Stanton, a Justice of the Peace within and for the county of Windham, aforesaid, Philip Squires of Ashford, aforesaid, in the county of Windham, aforesaid, aged 90 years, and after being duly cautioned and sworn according to law, deposeth and saith that he was a soldier in the War of the Revolution and that he is now a pensioner of the United States. That he enlisted in December, 1775, and joined the company comnnnded by Capt. Hull in Colo. Charles Webb's Regt. Mr. Hull was called Capt. by his soldiers, yet might have been only a lieutenant. That he joined said Regt. & Company at or near Cambridge in the state of Massachusetts and was quartered in an old barn. In March was ordered to Roxbury, then to Dorchester Hill and went to fortifying. Deponent thinks it was sometime in March that the troops were ordered to Governors Island, NY That sd. Cob. Webb's Regt. marched by way of New London with the other troops & then took a sloop & sailed for NY Deponent thinks he was discharged from this tour of duty at Fishkill or the Highlands. During this time deponent underwent many hardships, and served the full term of one year as a private soldier.
That deponent was well acquainted with a man by the name of Ebenezer Sparks of Killingly, Conn.; that sd. Ebenezer Sparks was at Roxbury as a private soldier in a company commanded by Capt. James Gordon on a two months tour of duty under Cob. John Douglass. That sd. Ebenezer Sparks enlisted for a year's service & deponent thinks in Colo. Durkee's Regt., Capt. McGreggor's Company, but will not be too positive into what company & regt. sd. Sparks enlisted. This was in February 1776.
Deponent well recollects Ebenezer Sparks being one of the soldiers that was on Long Island in 1776 & was in the retreat off of the Island and lost some of his baggage. This fact deponent well recollects.
Said Sparks enlisted at Roxbury or in that vicinity sometime in February 1776. He occasionally saw him after his enlistment & knows that he served, & that he enlisted for one year at this time of enlistment. He cannot tell the time of his discharge, but has no reason to doubt but that he served out his full time of enlistment, to wit, one year. That the said Ebenezer Sparks many years ago moved from Killingly into the country & he thinks to the state of Vermont, as it was said at the time.
Sworn and subscribed on the day [signed Philip Squire]
and year aforesaid named or written, before me
[signed] Tho, C. Stanton,
Justice of Peace.
State of Vermont,
Windham County. June 28, 1845.
This deponent being 86 years of age doth depose and say that she was well acquainted with Olive Love and that she married Ebenezer Sparks in 1778, and that she lived with said Sparks about two years, and died August 22, 1780. That she was with her at the birth of her first and only child about nine months previous to her death, which is the reason of her remembering the above facts.
her
[signed] Annar X Woods
mark
State of Vermont
Windham County SS Dover.
28 day of June A.D. 1845, then Annar Woods of Dover in the county of Windham & state of Vermont personally appearing and after being carefull examined and duly cautioned, made solemn oath that the foregoing deposition by her subscribed contains the truth and nothing but the truth. Before me
[signed] Lyman Howe,
Justice of the Peace.
I further state the above Annar Woods is
a person of truth [and] verasity.
[signed] Lyman Howe,
Justice of the Peace.